The Hon. Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, CON, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to revamp cooperative societies and weed out fake and corrupt ones who steal and scam innocent citizens.
The Minister made this known at the flag-off ceremony of the National Intensive Training workshop for trustees, management committees, and managers of cooperative societies in Nigeria held at Federal Cooperative College in Kaduna recently.
He stated that the days of fake cooperative societies were gone and measures were being taken to bring sanity, noting that the National Council on Cooperative Affairs will be convened soon to bring synergy, collaboration and partnership with the States’ Cooperative ecosystem.
The Minister stated that, “as we embark on the Renewed Hope Agenda for the cooperative sector, we are serious about overhauling the system through our reform and revamp program. We aim to bring innovation by renovating first, revitalizing the sector to restore confidence in the masses and bringing back the glory of the cooperative movement as a force to reckon with in socio-economic development in Nigeria”.
He added that the reform and revamp will focus on review and amendments of the Nigeria Cooperative Act to bring it up to date with global best practices and the local realities; development of regulatory framework to ensure compliance and due diligence in management of cooperatives; robust stakeholder mapping and analysis to guarantee participation.
He noted that the reform will include very robust and all-inclusive human capital development of which was kick-started.
He commended the efforts of the Provosts of the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna and Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology, Kano, Dr. Ibrahim Auwal and Dr. Mohammed Gwaram for kick-starting the laudable educational initiative, aligning to the reform and revamp programme.
The Minister of State also acknowledged the efforts of the Federal Cooperative Colleges in Ibadan, Oyo State, and in Oji-River, Enugu State, for planning the same intensive training workshop for the Cooperative Leaders and Managers within the Western and Eastern geo-political zones to ensure we have it cut across the nation.
In his remarks, the Provost, Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna, Dr. Ibrahim Auwal pointed out that the training would mark the beginning of a journey that will equip participants with the essential tools, knowledge, and strategies needed to advance cooperatives and strengthen the communities they serve.
He added that the knowledge shared will focus not only on the core principles of cooperative management but also on the critical skills needed to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the modern economy.
Highlights of the event was the inspection of the Cooperative College by the Hon. Minister of State and paper presentations by the Provosts of the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna and Kano.
Signed
Eremah Anthonia (Mrs.)
Chief Information Officer
For: Director Information
